Decretals, is a general name for the Papal decrees, comprehending the rescripts (answers to inquiries and petitions), decrees (judicial decisions by the Rota Romana), mandates (official instructions for ecclesiastical officers, courts, etc), edicts (Papal ordinances in general), and general resolutions of the councils. The decretals form a most important portion of the Roman Catholic canon law, the authoritative collection of them being that made by the orders of Gregory IX and published in 1234. A collection known as the false decretals was made in the 9th century, and for hundreds of years passed as genuine, though the greater part of it is spurious. Research Decretals
In Roman law, rescripts were answers returned by the emperor, written in purple ink, when consulted on questions of law, either by the parties in some controversy, or, more commonly, by officers charged with the administration of justice. These rescripts constituted one of the most important sources of the law during the early empire, and Justinian preserved them in his Institutes. Research Rescripts
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Abbreviations
Research Decretals
